DVD Review: Last House on the Left (2009): Garret Dillahunt, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Bowen, Joshua Cox, Riki Lindhome, Aaron Paul, Sara Paxton, Martha MacIsaac, Spencer Treat Clark, Usha Khan, Dennis Iliadis, Bryan Thomas, Cody Zwieg, Greig Buckle, Jonathan Craven, Marianne Maddalena, Adam Alleca, Carl Ellsworth, Wes Craven: Movies & TV

Aug19

DVD Review: Last House on the Left (2009): Garret Dillahunt, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Bowen, Joshua Cox, Riki Lindhome, Aaron Paul, Sara Paxton, Martha MacIsaac, Spencer Treat Clark, Usha Khan, Dennis Iliadis, Bryan Thomas, Cody Zwieg, Greig Buckle, Jonathan Craven, Marianne Maddalena, Adam Alleca, Carl Ellsworth, Wes Craven: Movies & TV

Posted by admin | on 19 August, 02:31 AM

Product Description
Renowned horror director Wes Craven returns to the scene of the most notorious thrillers of all time in this darkly disturbing reimagining of The Last House on the Left. After kidnapping and ruthlessly assaulting two teen girls, a sadistic killer and his gang unknowingly find shelter from a storm at the home of one of the victim’s parents– two ordinary people who will go to increasingly gruesome extremes to get revenge. Loaded with shocking twists guaranteed to leave you on edge, it’s the ominous film critics call, “One of the best horror remakes ever made” (Scott Weinberg, Fearnet.com).

Microwaves pop more than just popcorn,

By Monkdude (Hampton, Virginia) -
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Last House on the Left [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left was released in 1972 and I heard from many people who were old enough to see it when it first came out (like my dad) that it was the most shocking thing anyone had ever seen. To this day the original is still a raw and often disgusting piece of cinema, so being that in 2009 films can push the envelope even more, I didn’t know how far this thing would go.

It’s shocking, brutal and gross, but it didn’t just go the buckets of blood route. Yes, there is some gore, but compared to films like Hostel and SAW this is quite tame. What does get under your skin is the rape scene. I read that some people witnessed others leave the theater at this point and they never came back. I guess they didn’t see the original or read up on what they paid to see before plopping in their seat. It shows little skin compared to the 1972 version, but it’s a long scene that is painful to watch.

The cast is quite good, though most are actors whose names you won’t know. The father, played by Tony Goldwyn, and the leader of the killers, played by Garrett Dillahunt were the standouts.

For a film as gritty as this one, the cinematography is polished and takes away a little bit of the raw power that the original had. I actually don’t think Wes Craven’s 1972 flick holds up well today and thought this remake was better.

Make sure you are in the right frame of mind before seeing this one. By that I mean, don’t watch The Last House on the Left and expect to be in a good mood when you leave. While it’s a pleasure to see the parents take out the villains one by one to avenge their daughter, you will leave the theater looking for the bright sun to make you feel clean again. Too bad it was raining when I got out. Don’t worry, I think I’ll be okay.

best re make in years,

By Nitesh Ghavri -

This review is from: The Last House on the Left [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Watched this picture a few days ago and it is simply facinating in the mood it creates.The original was in all fairness brilliant for it’s time but a re make for the new generation was long overdue and boy did they get it right.The rape scene is extremely tough to stomach and the gore factor is certainly not easy on the eyes but the revenge driven parents are a joy to watch for fans of this genre.Very satisfying ending.For the few out there who have not seen the original i would reccommend watching this version and please keep an open mind.To summarize…this picture can be extremely disturbing from time to time but the end result makes the ride worthwhile.Keep a special place in your mind for this style of horror/thriller as it won’t leave you easily.Definitely one for the books.

Solid remake of a classic. Also a classic example of the importance of a careful production,

By Paulo Leite (Lisbon, Portugal) -

So now Hollywood is remaking virtually every horror classic it can put its hands on…

Certainly the whole thing has a very simple explanation: a) Hollywood studios already own the rights to those films; b) these classics have a huge built-in fan base; c) they do not require 100 million Dollars to make; d) many of those classics look dated to the eyes of young viewers; e) so let’s redo them and cash in the fact that everybody will wand to see an updated version of a classic; f) because most of today’s horror is crap anyway; g) and everybody loves a classic! So there’s nothing really new here and the remaking of The Last House on the Left is no different from all other remakes we have seen in recent years.

But the good thing this time is that this remake benefits from:
- A classic story of revenge (something audiences everywhere empathize with),
- A great cast with actors who can really carry a character,
- A great screenplay that keeps the good things,
- A great director who understands the importance of creating genuine tension,
- Lots of good taste.

This last element is the most controversial if we think this story is very brutal (perhaps the most brutal storyline in all those classic horror films from the 70’s). Two girls get kidnapped by a family of violent criminals on the run. One of them escapes barely alive… while, on the other hand, the killers end up spending the night in the house of a nice couple who happens to be the girl’s parents. Now, in the immortal words of James Brown: “Payback! Revenge!” (laughs) Yes, the film is very violent. Yes it gets very brutal and bloody.
But YET it NEVER gets TOO over the top, TOO exaggerated or TOO unbelievable (once you forget the huge coincidence of the premise) because the story is THAT good. Yes it gets desperate, bloody and heavy… but the story asks for it and the scripts constructs it well.

So I think this is perhaps one of the best remakes I’ve seen in this recent trend of remaking the classics. Of course the original film had some kind of magic that is impossible to reproduce - and I think this new version acknowledges that. the original was cheap, dirty and low budget. In fact, I believe the original 1972 film was one of the best candidates for a great remake because a) it had a truly great screenplay to begin with and b) was one of the cheapest/worst looking/worst polished of all those 70’s and 80’s films we now call classics.

And that’s what really shines on this remake: the care that was invested in order not only to do a remake… but also give us a truly memorable and gruesome story of revenge. Now… after having said this, let me tell you all: that last scene is incredible! It does go over the top. But we forgive it because revenge is so human and the script is so clear that we do go along.

For better or for worse, THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is one of those classic horror stories we all love to watch. It gave us a great film more than 35 years ago and (thanks to the producer’s care) it gives us now a great update.

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